When is the best time to post on Instagram? As much as we would like to give you a quick answer, the real answer is, “it depends.”Every Instagram account is different and that makes it difficult to gather accurate and reliable information. Still, regardless of your account’s unique following, there seem to be at least a few numbers to go by.Later, an Instagram scheduling app, analyzed more than 60,000 Instagram posts in 2015 and the numbers revealed enough information to draw basic conclusions. By no means are these stats the final say, but they give you a general idea of when are the best times to post your photos and videos.Time of dayAlthough it varied from day to day, the general consensus from the Later survey is that 2 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET were the best times to post for the most interaction, while 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. were deemed the worst times to post. There is no definitive reason as to why these times seem the most opportune. But Matt Smith, … [Read more...] about Knowing the best time to post on Instagram could lead to more likes and follows

Job community website Glassdoor has just published its annual list of the top 50 best companies to work for, as rated by those that work for them.California-based Facebook came out on top (up from 3rd spot a year ago), Google placed sixth and the business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn ranked 14th. As for Apple, the Cupertino company was quite a way down the list in 34th spot.Around 15 other tech companies showed up in the list, among them Riverbed Technology (3rd), National Instruments (8th), and Intel (31st).The list is compiled using feedback from workers which is given voluntarily and anonymously to Glassdoor.Employees taking part in the online survey are asked to rate their job satisfaction alongside other things such as work-life balance, benefits and career advancement opportunities. They’re also encouraged to reveal not only the good sides of their employer and job conditions but also any negative aspects.In a Glassdoor video (below) featuring several Facebook … [Read more...] about Facebook rated ‘best place to work’ in annual employee survey

If you want to see what the future of the Internet looks like, you might want to look to Austin, Texas. That’s the latest city to host Google’s powerful new Google Fiber initiative, second only to the very first Google Fibertown on the map, Kansas City. Having won Google’s golden ticket last year, Austinites will soon see ground broken in select “fiberhoods” that will pave the way for Internet speeds of up to 100 times faster than the U.S. average. And that’s not all. Google is also in the TV business now — as in: move over, Comcast and Time Warner.Before you get too jealous, though, consider that Google’s revolutionary new services come with a rather big catch: If you’re an Austin denizen gunning for Google Fiber in your neighborhood, then you have to convince your neighbors they want it too. Not enough interest in your part of town? Then you may be slap out of luck.“We don’t choose … [Read more...] about Pick me! Pick me! Google wants Austinites to fight for fiber, recruit neighbors

It’s official: Life is better at Google.That’s the word from Fortune Magazine, at least, which assigned Google the top spot in its annual list of the “100 Best Companies To Work For.”According to the report, last year’s boon for the tech company translated to much employee love — and the long list of perks that come with being a Google employee didn’t hurt, either. Among those perks at the company’s Mountain View, California, complex are bocce courts and a bowling alley, as well as 25 cafes stocked with free food across all of the companies’ locations.“Employees are never more than 150 feet away from a well-stocked pantry,” one Google staffer told the magazine.In a related story by Mercury News, the Google founders’ focus on air quality was also cited as a reason for — and a great example of the company’s focus on — the level of employee satisfaction. From the company’s earliest days, the … [Read more...] about Google named best place to work in America

Moon Express on Thursday unveiled the design of its MX-1 robotic spacecraft to more than 10,000 attendees at the closing session of Autodesk University in Las Vegas.Moon Express plans to deploy the unmanned MX-1 to the moon and perhaps capture Google's Lunar XPrize.The MX-1 will be able to perform a variety of scientific and commercial functions. Moon Express plans to help NASA deliver payloads including plants and a telescope. Eventually, the craft could be used to help service satellites, clean up space debris, or even mine resources.The lunar lander will be "green" -- powered by sunlight and using hydrogen peroxide for rocket fuel.It will be smaller than many other spacecrafts that have traveled away from Earth -- about as big as a coffee table and weighing just about 1,320 pounds. Its lighter structure is thanks in part to its design. The MX-1 will use its empty fuel tanks as landing support, eliminating the need for a landing structure such as legs."I'm confidant that Moon … [Read more...] about MX-1 to Shoot for Moon – and $20 Million

For all that Google has done to revive interest in technology and IPOs in recent weeks, it also has provided new fodder for a long-running debate: Is going public the ultimate goal for all companies, or are some businesses better served by staying private?Although the company is letting its IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) do the talking right now, the document leaves little doubt about Google's position: It is confident it can strike the perfect balance and become a public company without giving up the benefits of being privately held.Google's founders say they will remain focused on the long term, eschewing the earnings expectations game, avoiding opportunities to book quarterly gains at the expense of long-term corporate health, continuing to make strategic and even zany investments, and striving to nurture a unique but fragile corporate culture that values employees and their ideas. In a nutshell, they say, the firm will keep trying to make "the … [Read more...] about SPECIAL REPORT Can Google Be Public and Private?

Eyeing a possible three-way partnership that could dramatically alter the Web portal space overnight, search giant Google and cable company Comcast are reportedly talking about acquiring a minority stake in America Online.Under the reported deal, the two companies would buy a minority stake in AOL from parent company Time Warner. In one sweep, such a move would enable Time Warner content to continue to flow through the portal, give Google an instant presence in the space that it has been building toward with in-house developments over the past year, and give Comcast a new distribution channel for its programming as well as access to millions of potential customers for its high-speed broadband services.Perhaps as importantly, such a move would block Microsoft from linking AOL with its own MSN, a merger that would create a portal powerhouse and one that has been reportedly been the subject of intermittent talks between Time Warner and Microsoft in recent weeks.Time Warner is said to be … [Read more...] about Google, Comcast Said to Talk AOL Ownership Stake

Google last week announced it would contribute US$1 million to theUN Children's Fund to support the global fight against the mosquito-borne Zika virus.A team of Google engineers has volunteered to work with UNICEF to analyze data in an effort to figure out the viral infection's path. It also will match employee donations with the goal of giving an extra $500,000 to UNICEF and thePan American Health Organization.The company took the actions following recent Zika virus outbreaks that caused a 3,000 percent increase in global search interest since November.Last month, theWorld Health Organization declared a public health emergency.The possible correlation with Zika, microcephaly and other birth defects is alarming, Google said. Four out of five people with the virus don't show any symptoms, and the primary transmitter, the Aedes mosquito, is widespread and challenging to eliminate.UNICEF is working with Google engineers and data scientists to create an open source information platform to … [Read more...] about Google Joins Effort to Stop Zika Virus Spread

Google on Tuesday announced a highly anticipated launch of its new job search aggregation technology, following last month's announcement of its Google for Jobs program at the company's annual I/O conference.The initiative will allow Google users to search for jobs either on mobile devices or personal computers, and to use a set of filters to obtain highly targeted results pulled from many different sites across the Web.During his keynote presentation last month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted that the company has wanted to use its machine learning capabilities to find ways to make an immediate impact on people's lives.Google has invested a great deal of time, effort and resources to enhance its machine learning for job search capabilities over the past year, Pichai noted, pointing to last year's introduction of a Google Jobs API, a vertical machine learning model.The Google Jobs API utilizes two proprietary ontologies to deliver results that match both employers' and job seekers' … [Read more...] about Google Launches Go-To Job Aggregation Site